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Gasum in brief

The energy company Gasum is a Finnish gas sector (natural gas and biogas) expert that is building a bridge to a carbon-neutral society on land and at sea. Gasum contributes to the creation of a sustainable energy economy by increasing the supply of Finnish biogas, developing the Nordic gas ecosystem and ensuring the price competitiveness of gas. Gasum imports natural gas to Finland, products and upgrades biogas in Finland and Sweden and transmits and delivers these for energy production, industry, homes, and land and maritime transport. Gasum is Nordic’s leading supplier of biogas. The company processes waste and produces biogas at 12 biogas plants located in Finland and Sweden. It injects biogas into the gas network from Espoo, Kouvola, Lahti and Riihimäki. The Gasum subsidiary Skangas is the leading Nordic expert in liquefied natural gas (LNG) that will continue to strengthen the position and infrastructure of LNG and the utilization of new gas solutions in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Skangas has LNG production plants in Risavika, Norway, and Porvoo, Finland, and LNG terminals in Øra, Norway, Lysekil, Sweden, and Pori, Finland. The Gasum Group has around 400 employees in Finland, Norway and Sweden. The company’s revenue in 2016 totaled €843 million.

News

Gasum has signed a comprehensive circular economy cooperation agreement with IKEA Finland. The cooperation will involve using food waste from IKEA restaurants in Finland to produce biogas, with Gasum gas filling stations also to be constructed in conjunction with IKEA stores. The first station will be opened at the IKEA store in Espoo in late 2017. In the future the cooperation will also enable the utilization of biogas fuel in IKEA Finland’s own operations and by IKEA’s transport partners.

Gasum has taken yet another major step in the promotion of the circular economy and cleaner transport. The cooperation between Gasum and IKEA Finland will result in the production of environmentally friendly biogas from food waste generated in all of Finland’s IKEA restaurants. Biogas is a clean and 100% renewable local fuel made from biodegradable feedstocks such as biowaste sourced from homes, retail outlets and industry.

”Utilizing the volumes of food waste remaining after our efforts to eliminate wastage is a sustainable act for the promotion of a clean energy form, biogas. As a company we’re determined to set a good example by adopting new circular-economy approaches and hopefully at the same time inspiring consumers as well as other companies to take concrete environmental action,” says Country Sustainability Manager Tiina Suvanto from IKEA Finland.

Biogas produced in Finland is an easy and inexpensive way to cut carbon dioxide and fine particulate emissions from transport. In transport use, biogas helps reduce the fuel’s lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85%. Gasum biogas is also the only road fuel sold in Finland that has been awarded the Made in Finland Key Flag Symbol as well as the Nordic Ecolabel.

The world’s first IKEA store gas filling stations to be opened in Finland

One of the aims of the cooperation is to construct gas filling stations in conjunction with the IKEA stores in Finland. The first filling station will be opened at the Espoo store in late 2017. The Finnish IKEA stores will be the first IKEA units in the world to get gas filling stations.

”Our partnership with IKEA Finland is a great example of comprehensive circular-economy cooperation benefiting all those involved. The opening of gas filling stations in conjunction with the stores will improve access to a cleaner road fuel among consumers as well as logistics operators,” says Jukka Metsälä, Vice President, Biogas, from Gasum.

”Environmentally friendly biogas is beyond compare as a road fuel – it’s 100% renewable, local and inexpensive. I believe our cooperation now launched will lay the foundation for a long-term partnership supporting the rapid development of the gas vehicle market,” Metsälä continues.

Environmentally friendly logistics based on the circular economy approach

The circular economy provides enterprises with an excellent opportunity to fuel their vehicles with biogas produced from their own biowaste. In addition to the use of biowaste from the IKEA restaurants as feedstock in biogas production and the opening of gas filling stations in conjunction with IKEA stores, the cooperation also enables the future utilization of biogas in IKEA Finland’s own operations as well as by its transport partners.

”The gas filling stations will improve our partners’ capacities for fleet renewal through a switch to environmentally friendly biogas. Our aim is also to gradually replace the cars used by IKEA Finland’s personnel as well as the IKEA buses with vehicles running on environmentally friendly fuel,” Suvanto says.

Gasum has opened four new gas filling stations in Finland this year. At the moment there are 36 gas filling stations in Finland, with 24 of these operated by Gasum.

More gas for Central Finland – new gas filling station opened in Jyväskylä

The Finnish gas filling station network has increased by several stations in 2017, and in August the gas infrastructure of Central Finland was also strengthened with the opening of a new filling station in Jyväskylä. The station offers compressed natural gas (CNG) and biogas (CBG), which can be used to fuel vehicles such as cars, delivery vehicles, waste management vehicles and buses. Liquefied natural gas (LNG), on the other hand, is suitable for heavy-duty vehicles. The development of the station network and the increase in the number of gas-fueled vehicles supports the transition to cleaner solutions in private as well as public transport.

Gasum promotes cleaner mobility and is strongly committed to the development of gas-powered transport in Finland. In addition to natural gas and biogas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a significant option for emission reductions for heavy-duty vehicles. In Europe, the pace of market development is already fast – LNG-fueled heavy-duty vehicles are becoming more common and the filling station network is expanding. The gas filling station opened in Jyväskylä is the second one in Finland offering fuel for light as well as heavy-duty vehicles. This year LNG for heavy-duty transport has become available in Jyväskylä, Turku, Helsinki and Vantaa.

Finland’s gas filling station network is expanding at a rapid annual rate, and the station opened in August in Jyväskylä is already the fourth new station opened in 2017. Over the next few years, the number of new stations to be opened by Gasum totals 35.

”Consumers, enterprises and cities want clean and inexpensive transport solutions. Sources of road fuel gas are expanding and access improving all the time thanks to the new gas filling stations of various of operators. In Jyväskylä as well there are now two filling stations responding to the increasing need for road fuel gas. The selection of vehicle models running on gas is also currently increasing, and gas vehicles are available from all well-known car manufactures for light and heavy-duty transport needs. I’m happy that Jyväskylä's trunk route transport now also gets an excellent opportunity to switch to lower-emission energy solutions,” says Gasum Vice President for Biogas Jukka Metsälä.

People in Finland interested in energy issues

According to a recent panel survey, the majority (76%) of people in Finland are interested in energy issues. * According to the survey, people in Finland are also committed to cleaner energy solutions. At the same time, however, people do not want to give up private cars. To respond to consumer wishes and the tightening emission targets, cities and enterprises need to find and offer new solutions for transport.

”The renewable energy local government review conducted for the City of Jyväskylä this year shows that we have great opportunities to increase the share of renewable energy. New transport solutions will play an important role in the achievement of this goal, and therefore we’re really pleased to get a new filling station in Jyväskylä that provides a comprehensive service for transport in the area,” says Mayor of the City of Jyväskylä Timo Koivisto.

Transport emission reduction as part of corporate responsibility

PR Director Juha Niemi from the moving and logistics services provider Niemi Services also finds that enterprises should actively introduce new ways to cut transport emissions. ”We started cooperation with Gasum in 2015, and today we’re already using 15 vehicles running on Finnish biogas. Our target is to achieve zero fine particulate emissions by 2040. The growing filling station network enables us to start using biogas vehicles outside the Helsinki region as well. Thanks to the new filling station, we're now operating our first Jyväskylä-based biogas vehicle.”

Gasum biogas is a 100% Finnish and renewable biofuel. It is the only road fuel sold in Finland that has been awarded the Made in Finland Key Flag Symbol as well as the Nordic Ecolabel. Biogas production is strongly associated with the circular economy as gas is produced from feedstocks such as biowaste that used to end up in landfill sites or waste incineration facilities. The circular economy provides enterprises and municipalities with an excellent opportunity to fuel their vehicles with biogas produced from their own biowaste.

The environmental management expert Eerola-Yhtiöt is the first company in Finland to fuel its vehicles with 100% Finnish and renewable biogas produced from waste collected by the company. Earlier, the fat, oil and grease (FOG) sludge collected by us ended up unutilized in wastewater treatment plants and landfill sites, but now we're able to recover the energy content of FOG at the biogas plant. With us filling up eight vehicles on biogas for a year reduces the CO2 emissions from their use by an amazing 2,600 tonnes a year. We’re very proud to be a forerunner in this,” says Tom Sundell, Marketing Director, from Eerola-Yhtiöt.

Joutseno methanation plant investment not currently feasible

Gasum, Kemira and the City of Lappeenranta assessed the techno-economic feasibility of a renewable gas production plant, or methanation plant, in Joutseno, Finland, in spring 2017. Studies relating to the methanation plant were then continued, including assessments of gas production costs, implementation and profitability. A joint decision has now been made by the actors involved to discontinue further plans concerning the project due to its economic unfeasibility. The project will not be implemented in the near future.

”We continued studies relating to the Joutseno methanation plan, focusing especially on gas production costs and implementation as well as profitability. Now that more detailed profitability calculations are available, we’re discontinuing the project. The decision was made jointly by all actors involved. In the future, it may be possible that the project may be reconsidered once progress has been made in technology and the renewable gas market,” says Jouni Haikarainen, Senior Vice President, Natural Gas, from Gasum.

”Using renewable electricity for hydrocarbon production is one of the key technologies aiming to achieve a carbon-neutral society. Lappeenranta University of Technology and the City of Lappeenranta are at the forefront of development of this technology. It’s a pity time wasn’t ripe for this key project in circular economy and industrial integration,” says Development Director Markku Mäki-Hokkonen from the City of Lappeenranta.

If realized, the methanation plant would have been by far the largest plant in the world producing renewable methane from hydrogen and carbon dioxide with its capacity for 18–28 megawatts. The plant concept would have been based on utilizing side streams from local industry. The results of the techno-economic feasibility study show that the Joutseno methanation plant would have been technically feasible.